Rules for our monthly online tournaments

Rules for the Trade Cards Online Tournaments

Duration: Each tournament will start on the first day of the month and last for the whole month.

Participation: Anyone can participate. You don't need to enrol or register specially for the tournaments.

Every player who plays a minimum of 10 games during the month becomes a participant of the tournament.

Scoring: Points will be granted to each participant for the games they play against another participant. 3 points for the winner of the game, and 2 points for each player in case of a draw. You will also get 2 points if your opponent abandons the game and it can't be finished correctly. On the other hand, if you lose more games than you win (with other participants), then one point will be discounted for each lost game in excess of the total won.

For each opponent you play with, points will be granted to you only for the last three games you play with that person. So if you play four or more games with the same person during the month, only the three most recent games count towards the tournament. And only if both players have become participants. This means you will not get points immediately for a game you play if your opponent is not yet a participant. But you will get your points for that game later on if your opponent becomes a participant (by playing the minimum required of games in that month).

The tournament will be declared null and void if there are less than a minimum of 15 participants at the end of the month.

Winners: the winners of the tournament will be decided according to the total points accumulated at the end of the month.
In case of identical scores for the first positions a formula will be applied so as to resolve the tie.
The formula will take into account the scores of the opponents each player has played against and give more weight to games played against players with a higer score.

Prizes: the three participants with the most points will be declared champions of the tournament and their names will be displayed on the site's home page for the following month.
They will also receive Premium memberships: one month for the third position, two months for the second position, and three months for the winner.

Valid games: Aborted games will in no case be considered for the tournament.
If your opponent seems to have disconnected after you had won or when you were about to win, then you need to make sure you declare the game as abandoned (see Disputes below); otherwise you will get no points for it.

Disputes: In case of dispute about an abandoned game, a third user of the site needs to be recruited to determine if the game should be declared won by either participant. This user, who needs to meet a series of requirements, will have to re-play the game and then resolve the dispute and declare the final result for the game.

Penalizations: If the result of a disputed game is changed by a judge, the losing player(s) will get penalized and lose 6 points.
Furhtermore, players who get penalized 10 times in the same month will be banned from playing again for the rest of the month and for the following month.